(PhysOrg.com) -- A new a rapid blood test to rule out appendicitis among the 8 million patients who come to U.S. emergency rooms with abdominal pain each year may save patients from unnecessary radiation from a diagnostic ...

Radiologists can accurately diagnose acute appendicitis from a remote location with the use of a handheld device or mobile phone equipped with special software, according to a study presented today at the annual meeting of ...

Appendicitis is the most common childhood surgical emergency, but the diagnosis can be challenging, especially in children, often leading to either unnecessary surgery in children without appendicitis, or ...

For children with a perforated appendix, early appendectomy appears to reduce the time away from normal activities and has fewer adverse events as compared to another common option, the interval appendectomy, which is performed ...

Children who live in areas with fewer pediatricians are more likely to suffer life-threatening ruptures of the appendix than those in areas with more pediatricians, even when accounting for other factors such ...

The symptoms of appendicitis are often diffuse and it can be difficult to obtain an accurate diagnosis early in the course of the disease. It may be possible to predict the severity from a blood sample, and in this way determine ...

When CT results suggest appendicitis, but a patient's symptoms are inconsistent with the acute condition, physicians should consider a diagnosis of chronic or recurrent appendicitis and surgical treatment, according to a ...

Patients with possible appendicitis are typically evaluated using a standard-dose contrast enhanced CT, but a low-dose unenhanced CT that delivers approximately 50% less radiation is just as effective, according to a study ...

New research published in the February issue of the Journal of the American College of Surgeons suggests that a traditional, "open" appendectomy may be preferable to a less-invasive laparoscopic appendectomy for the majori ...

Appendicitis

Appendicitis is a condition characterized by inflammation of the appendix. It is classified as a medical emergency and many cases require removal of the inflamed appendix, either by laparotomy or laparoscopy. Untreated, mortality is high, mainly because of the risk of rupture leading to peritonitis and shock. Reginald Fitz first described acute and chronic appendicitis in 1886, and it has been recognized as one of the most common causes of severe acute abdominal pain worldwide. A correctly diagnosed non-acute form of appendicitis is known as "rumbling appendicitis".

The term "pseudoappendicitis" is used to describe a condition mimicking appendicitis. It can be associated with Yersinia enterocolitica.